Hilton Dunkeld House: Hotel Review

The Hilton
Dunkeld House Hotel

Since this review was written, the Hilton Dunkeld House Hotel
has become the Dunkeld House Hotel. As a result, what follows is now out of date. The
contact information on this page has been updated to reflect the change of identity and ownership
of the hotel, but the rest of the review remains as it
was. It will be rewritten following a revisit, which is planned to take place once refurbishment work
is complete.

The Hilton Dunkeld House Hotel is one of
Perthshire's best kept
secrets. An attractive country house in a wonderful setting has been
sympathetically extended over the years to offer 98 guest rooms plus a number
of self-contained lodges within the extensive grounds. Add in a wide range of
leisure activities including a swimming pool and a gym, four star standards of
accommodation, and excellent service from all those you meet, and it is perhaps
no surprise that so many of those staying when we visited seemed to be
returning guests. You can read our dining review for
Hilton Dunkeld House here.

The irony (and for some an added attraction) is that unless you know
it is here, it is very easy to overlook the very existence of the Hilton
Dunkeld House Hotel. It stands close to the north east bank of the River Tay
within its own 280 acre estate, immediately to the west of the attractive
village of Dunkeld. Actually, "immediately
to the west" is a little misleading. The arched gateway to the drive stands at
the northern end of the village, and from here it is a mile to the hotel
itself. En route you realise that Dunkeld
Cathedral is effectively set within an enclave that cuts a corner out of
the estate, something that has been used to good advantage by a number of
brides planning their weddings.

Dunkeld House was built between 1898 and 1900 for the 7th Duke of
Atholl. It replaced an older Dunkeld House built much nearer the
cathedral in 1676, and the new house was
built with stone taken from a grand, but unfinished, palace started by the 4th
Duke of Atholl in 1828 and demolished in 1899, again near the
cathedral. The "new" Dunkeld House also
recycled features such as fireplaces and wooden carvings from the staircases of
the 1676 house. Dunkeld House became a hotel quite early in its life and, apart
from a spell as a girls' school during the Second World War, it has remained
one ever since.

You will probably enter the hotel via the entrance facing the car
park, in a corner of the original part of the house. This leads through to the
the cosy reception area. Beyond this is the main hall, complete with its
impressively grand staircase. There are a number of lounges available, and it
becomes immediately obvious that this is not somewhere that has any shortage of
areas in which you can sit and relax.

Beyond the hall is the Garden Bar, offering a very comfortable
lounge area, and this leads through to the Garden Restaurant, the hotel's main
dining room. At the far end of the south frontage of the hotel is the Riverside
Room, offering accommodation for functions of various kinds, both commercial
and matrimonial, and a little removed from the corner of the hotel, during
summer, is a marqee which can offer additional space for larger functions.

Guest rooms at Dunkeld House come in different flavours and
standards. The original house and the later extension offer a choice between
traditional and more contemporary finishes, while it is also possible to choose
between "guest rooms", "deluxe rooms" and "suites". All come with all the
fixtures ad fittings you would expect from a 4 star hotel, with steps in
grading coming with more space and a slightly wider range of facilities. It is
worth knowing that family rooms are also available.

Disabled guests are well catered for. Convenient parking and ramps
combine with level access around the ground floor, lifts between floors, and
specially adapted rooms to ensure an excellent level of accessibility.

Some of the sporting heritage of Dunkeld House is obvious from the
estate's river frontage, and the hotel has its own ghillie and fishing beats.
The tennis courts and putting greens in the area close to the hotel are also
obvious, as is the well equipped health club and spa, but a range of other
activities from 4x4 driving to clay pigeon shooting is also available. Or you
can simply follow one of the paths through the estate or along the river and
enjoy this magnificent slice of highland
Perthshire.

We tend to think of Hilton hotels as focusing largely on the needs
of the business traveller, and it is fascinating to find one that is very much
driven by the demands of the leisure market. The result is a very different
sort of Hilton, albeit one that still maintains the standards guests would
expect from the company in any corner of the globe. We were particularly
impressed by being explicitly asked, on checking out, whether there was any
aspect of our stay that was less good than it could have been: something we are
surprised is not done more widely. You can read our dining review for Hilton Dunkeld House
here.